The US space agency NASA is funding research on a seaplane for Saturn’s moon Titan, a particularly fast drive for space probes and an oxygen pipeline for the moon. Those are just three projects from NASA’s Advanced Concepts Program (NIAC) that have now been promised funding. There is a total of 175,000 US dollars for the 14 concepts, some of which are extremely futuristic. This means that the researchers can further develop their ideas; But the money alone is not enough to make it happen. All of the concepts are part of Phase I of NASA’s program, which repeatedly makes particularly futuristic ideas public.
In a year to Pluto
This is how the pellet drive should work.
There is money with it among others for Quinn Morley and his plane, which is said to be able to fly over Titan and make stopovers in the waters. That could spend a quarter of its operating time flying and intensively exploring the exciting moon from the air thanks to the dense atmosphere. Another now supported concept provides for space probes to be accelerated to immense speeds by microscopic granules. For this purpose, the pellets are to be stored in space and then fired from Earth in the direction of the probe with a laser. They could reach 30 astronomical units (AU) per year, almost ten times as fast as Voyager 1. You would be at Pluto after just one year.
Money goes to the University of Nebraska to further develop a concept that provides, to let building material grow on Mars. Bacteria and fungi are supposed to convert the material present on Mars in such a way that it can be used to make stones that can be used to build settlements. Because CO₂ is bound in the process, this could even become relevant for the earth. There is also financial support for Peter Curreri from Lunar Resources, who wants to transport the oxygen obtained from water ice on the moon to the people at a possible research station in a different way than previously planned. He proposesto lay a pipeline for it, which consists largely of material that is available on site.
(mho)
